Halfway through the fourth week of my senior year, I’ve heard a lot of classmates groaning about the new freshman on campus and how they stopped in the middle of the hall or were looking around lost in the cafeteria. I got to wondering; every year I seem to give a new student the same passing piece of advice on where the Spanish classrooms are or how much they’ll enjoy algebra one with Julie Bielamowicz, but what about the pieces of advice we all wish we could go back and tell our freshman selves? Aren’t those the anecdotes we should share? So, here is a list of some of the things I wish I could go back and shout at the sky at confused freshman me.

Pack smart. I know there’s a whole stigma around the A day, B day binder concept where it feels like 90% of people do it that way and if you don’t you’re some kind of weirdo. In our ACE class we were even told we had to do it that way, I had to ask for special permission to not use the system. For me my brain just doesn’t work that way, I work in separate binders, one for each class. Whatever it is for you, binders, notebooks, folders, so long as you can keep organized that way go for it. If something doesn’t work, like you tried a notebook for a class but realize it gives way too many handouts for that, be flexible. Transferring your stuff to a binder or folder shouldn’t take more than thirty minutes if you’re slow, and it’s most certainly not the end of the world. If a teacher’s syllabus says you need a spiral but you absolutely despise them, ask them why, see if you can substitute in whatever works for you.

Another point on that line of thinking is to consider the weight of your backpack. I know sometimes there’s no choice but fill it to the brim with all the stuff you need on A day, but most of the time there’s a smarter way to do things. This is coming from the girl who carried four binders, a lunchbox, at least two books to read for fun (because obviously you need entertainment options), sometimes another book for English and that doesn’t even take into account the fact that now everyone has laptops. Try to cut down on your supplies, if you have four binders on one day, consider instead of buying one big binder for each class, buying two smaller binders and switching at the end of the semester. Then at least you’re carrying half of a classes work and not the whole year’s worth. Also, try to fit everything into one bag. If you bring a lunch, buy a smaller lunch box that can fit inside your backpack, you’ll be grateful when you don’t have to carry both everyday.

Speaking of lunch, the cafeteria is utter chaos and even upperclassmen get frazzled by it the first week of school. Don’t let our appearances of knowledge fool you, really most of the time we just head to where we sat last year and hope our friends do the same. My biggest piece of advice is to not glue yourself to a spot in the first week. Keep an eye out, you may not realize someone has the same lunch as you if you have tunnel vision and only sit in one place all the time. And be willing to move around, try sitting with different friend groups at lunch and see where you enjoy yourself the most. Just because you saw Maddie from middle school on the first day and sat with her doesn’t mean you have to stay there all year. Trust me, while you may be missed, people are generally pretty understanding if you say your other friend asked you to sit with them or if you say you want to go sit with them for the day.

Putting yourself out there is a major part of high school. I know a lot of people, like myself, just stick close to that one friend from eighth grade they got lucky enough to have a class with and for the most part were very reluctant to socialize. My biggest suggestion to cure this is clubs. We have tons of them that cover every range of interest out there, find out when one that interests you is meeting and go. It doesn’t require any pretense, but if you want you could go find the club sponsor’s room and maybe introduce yourself. While book club was my personal solution to my introversion, I know other people find their group through sports or band or whatever they have chosen to invest their free time in.

Never be afraid to speak up in class. As someone who was deathly terrified of their biology teacher, I know it can be intimidating and even the idea of saying the wrong thing in class can make you want to crawl in a hole and die, but you have to move past that. Acknowledge that your teachers are there to help you, if you say something wrong it just lets them know that they need to reteach that in a better way. They are an important resource, the whole staff is really. Get to know your counselor and AP as well because you will want to know them before you need them.

Tutoring, everyone needs it now and then. We can’t all be perfect in every subject, so you’ve got to learn where you can go when you need help. Learn your teacher’s office hours or stay after class for a minute to tell them you need help and ask when is a good time for you to come in. Teachers are here to do just that, teach. There’s no need to worry about embarrassing yourself or being annoying. TimberTeach also tries to provide students with a tutoring resource they can access during DEN. They will be available in the library and the plan is that starting Oct. 1 students will be able to switch into the TimberTeach DEN and be able to meet with one of the many tutors to receive help with whatever they need.

The last point I have to make is to use all the resources available to you while you have them. DEN can be a godsend if you use it to actually get your homework done instead of taking a nap. The Lenovos and Google Drive give you access to all your documents anytime you need them, which is something you should definitely take advantage of all the time and not just when you realize you forgot to print your english essay. Of course, the largest resource that freshman hold that we upperclassmen envy is time. While we scramble to balance clubs, sports, AP classes and college applications, you are blissfully unaware and still worried about finding your way to class on time. Take advantage of this time to try new things and explore all the clubs and electives this school has to offer. High school is all about finding your place in the world, and you’ll never find that if all you do is come to school, sit in class, go home, do homework and sleep. You have to put yourself out there and be willing to try things even if you might not like them.

Now take a second, breathe and take in the moment. You’ll be looking back on it and laughing before you know it.